​Dubai follows the UAE Federal Law No. 8 of 1980 on regulating labour relations. There are other cabinet decisions and ministerial announcements which provide additional regulations to the Labour law. In 2006, Dubai Government came up with a landmark Human Resources Law for government employees that include code of conduct, work environment, recruitment and employment policies and compensation and benefits. Keep yourself informed regarding your rights and responsibilities by studying this law.

An ordinance issued in January 2011 by the Ministry of Labour has limited the setting up of private employment agencies only to UAE nationals. Besides this limitation, the ordinance also stipulated that every partner and signatory in an employment agency should be an Emirati to be eligible to get a license. Private recruitment agencies which are already licensed have been given six months from January 2011 to rectify their regulations to suit the new stipulations.

Job offer letters, labour contracts and annexures to labour contracts are usually offered in both Arabic and English. From January 2016 onwards, the Ministry of Labour has approved a third language that can be added, based on the applicant's wishes and understanding, so as to reduce labour disputes and develop healthy relations between the new employee and employer. In addition to Arabic and English, new joiners can choose a third language on their job offer letter, labour contract and annexures from the following 9 languages: Bengali, Chinese, Dari (from Afghanistan), Hindi, Malayalam, Nepalese, Sinhalese, Tamil and Urdu. This applies to workers coming from outside and those residing in the UAE, that are seeking a new job or moving from one company to another.